2 weeks Ago By Joe Brophy
NFL's big game may be over but NASCAR's signature race is about to begin with the Daytona 500 this weekend. The 'Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing' is the crown jewel of the Cup Series season and a highlight of the motorsport calendar. Despite F1's explosion in the US market in recent years, the Daytona 500 remains one of the most-watched race events on TV.
One week after the Super Bowl, sports fans will descend upon the Daytona International Speedway for the 67th iteration of the race. This year promises to be grander than ever, with Captain America actor Anthony Mackie set to give the command for drivers to start their engines. Daytona Beach's long stretch has made it synonymous with racing for over a century, with Florida an iconic hotspot for speed records.
Over time, the city became the host for stock car events on a combined beach-and-road course. Its popularity led NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. to pioneer the way to the construction of the Great American Race in 1959.
Since then, Daytona 500 has signalled the official start of the racing season and here's all you need to know about the 500-mile race. The 2025 race will take place on Sunday, February 16. It will begin at 2:30pm ET, which is 7:30pm GMT.
There are traditionally 40 drivers in the field, with 36 guaranteed spots and another nine for the winners of earlier qualifying races. The one exception is for Helio Castroneves, who is the beneficiary of a new provision this year for 'world-class drivers'. Under the new rule change, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner will expand the field to 41 cars should he not qualify traditionally.
The race will be broadcast live on FOX and the FOX Sports App . In the US, fans without a cable subscription can live stream FOX via several services including YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu+. All NASCAR races on Fox or FS1 can also be streamed on Fubo , which is offering a free trial.
In the UK, Viaplay has the rights to show the Daytona 500. A subscription to the streaming service costs £11.99/month for a year, while a free trial is available for Amazon Prime Video customers.
talkSPORT.com will also have the best of the reaction. United States: Fox United Kingdom: Viaplay Group Canada: TSN, RDS Australia: Fox Sports Australia France: Mediawan Germany: More than Sports, Sport1 Italy: MolaTV Mexico: Fox Sports Mexico William Byron kicked off the 2024 season by winning the 66th annual Daytona 500.
The 27-year-old earned Hendrick Motorsports first victory at the 'Great American Race' in a decade on what was their 40th anniversary season. Ironically, the American enjoyed a 1-2 finish with his teammate Alex Bowman to give team owner Rick Hendrick a record-tying nine Daytona 500 victories. “I feel like I definitely grew up in the sport very differently,” he told CNN Sport following his triumph.
“I just was racing online on the computer, sim racing, and that’s how I learned how to drive. “It was just a completely different start than a lot of people but I was really fortunate for that background because I felt like that allowed me to learn a lot at a quick rate and once I got into real cars I was able to translate a lot of that.” IndyCar legend Castroneves has defended himself from the controversial Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) that allows other motorsports elite to secure a starting spot in Daytona without qualifying.
In an interview with Autoweek addressing the backlash, the Brazilian said: “I’m not the one who writes the rules, I’m the one very blessed and honored to be in this position to go to an incredible race. “Hopefully, I’m going to do justice not only for the people that are fans of all kinds of races—not just about Indy cars or prototypes or NASCAR..
. "If I can do it the way I want to do it, we won’t have to use the rule.” Daytona 500 pole qualifying Daytona Duel races NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opener ARCA Menards Series 200 race NASCAR Xfinity Series opener Daytona 500.
